Dollar Detox: ‘Time to ditch the dollar,’ says Cuban President

The call for de-dollarisation is getting louder as Cuba has come forward to ask developing countries to dump the US currency as it would set them free from Washington’s “sanctions, blackmail, aggression, and slander.” Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel said that dollar’s status as the world’s reserve currency enables the US to pursue an “aggressive hegemonistic policy of building walls, imposing punitive sanctions, blackmail, aggression and slander." BRICS has ‘brilliant alternative’ for dollar In an interview to RT, Diaz-Canel said “BRICS provides a brilliant alternative for economic integration, especially for developing economies.” BRICS, an acronym for five emerging economies – Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa – has its own development bank. The alliance of BRICS has overtaken the US-led G7 bloc in its share of global GDP. BRICS nations have been considering creating a new currency to settle cross-border trade. The idea was mooted by Russia as it faces economic sanctions from the West over its invasion of Ukraine. The new financial agreement could be seen as early as in August when the member nations meet in South Africa for their annual summit. It is also worth mentioning that some of the BRICS countries have already ditched dollar and are facilitating trade in their local currencies. De-dollarisation will lead to more inclusive trade The Cuban president said: “I believe that we need to recognise the leading role of Russia in shaping this multipolar world." He further stated that continued “de-dollarization” will lead to “more inclusive and more mutually beneficial trade” for those who reject the US’ “lies and empty promises.” Why Cuba is in favour of BRICS currency? Cuba is not a member of BRICS, but it is a close trading partner of Russia since the days of the Soviet Union. According to RT, trade between Russia and Cuba tripled to $452 million last year. Last week, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko visited Cuba where he announced that Russian firms were planning to increase its investment in the island nation’s tourism sector. “It is at times like this that we get friends from other countries supporting us with real actions and under conditions that are not harmful to our independence,” the RT report quoted Diaz-Canel as saying. Read all the  Latest News,  Trending News,  Cricket News,  Bollywood News, India News and  Entertainment News here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram.